By CHRIS BROOKS, photo by Tricia Davenport
BATAVIA — There was simply one word to describe the latest performance Friendship/Scio phenom Nevaeh Ross on Thursday.
That, being perfect. Why? Because the senior froze one of the toughest customers in Section V, No. 2 Notre Dame-Batavia, completely at the plate with 15 strikeouts, no walks and no errors from the defense behind her to complete the netting of a perfect game in the circle by a 2-0 count over the Lady Irish to move onto the Class D Finals for a fourth consecutive season.
“Nevaeh did it again. A perfect game and we had some solid contact at the plate to go with it,” said Friendship/Scio coach Deb Warner. “The bats didn’t really come alive like we hoped for. But we capitalized on some short game-play and some errors by Notre Dame-Batavia to get things to work out for us. Three hits, we got them all at the right time.”
Friendship/Scio (18-3) kept it simple across all seven innings of play to keep Notre Dame-Batavia at a complete freeze along the way. After the exchange of a quick first inning, the team in black and gold went to work. Although just four hitters reached the plate in the frame, Nora Thompson was able to work her way through to the plate off an error to break the ice in the second.
As Ross continued to deal left and right for the defending Class D State Finalists, it was only a matter of time before one final and massive piece of insurance would work its way through. In the top of the fifth, Friendship/Scio got their wish behind the aid of their star pitcher at the plate, blasting an RBI double to the outfield to garner a 2-0 lead they ultimately never looked back on.
From that point onward, the lead for Friendship/Scio was now on Nevaeh Ross’ shoulders. And with it, she would not miss, as she struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning to finish off another brilliant victory from within the confines of Genesee Community College.
Ross would finish her sublime game of perfection with 15 strikeouts in the circle for Friendship/Scio.
Coming up Saturday night not too far from town, is the Class D Finals in Fillmore, as Friendship/Scio gets set to battle top-seeded Keshequa for all the marbles.
First pitch is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
Friendship/Scio 010 010 0 – 2 3 0
Notre Dame-Batavia 000 000 0 – 0 0 3
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 15K) and Morghyn Ross.
ND-B – Loretta Sorochty (LP) (CG, 8K, 3BB) and Sofia Falleti.
No. 1 Keshequa 7, No. 4 Genesee Valley/Belfast 2
NUNDA — One of the key ingredients to a sound performance in the heat of Sectionals, is playing stellar defense.
Through their playoff journey so far, No. 4 Genesee Valley/Belfast has allowed only three runs in their previous two rounds of battle against both Alfred-Almond and Arkport-Canaseraga at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast.
Now on Thursday, they left town for a trip to the Rymer Complex in Nunda for their biggest fight of their lives this season. And right from the get-go, the hosts in orange saw everything Hannah Southwick-Powers was delivering to them, taking full advantage of it, as they went on to score the game’s first five runs to set the tone early on before putting it away down the stretch, claiming the 7-2 victory.
“That was a bad third inning,” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan. “We made too many mistakes, had them draw too many walks. We had the bases loaded early on, but we couldn’t get the timely hit. In the state of this game, you can’t make many mistakes like this. But I was proud of the girls, we battled all the way through, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I will miss my three seniors, Sondra (Guilford), Abby (Sullivan) and Cassidy (Hand). They’ve been around for the last few years, and hopefully, this was a good learning experience for the younger girls to help us get better for next year.”
Five of Keshequa’s runs were scratched across in the first three innings of play, with a four-run bottom of the third doing just the trick behind the efforts of an eight-hit offensive outburst.
In return, Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to garner a couple of key hits along the way themselves, grabbing a pair each from Abby Sullivan and Hannah Southwick-Powers to ignite their offense.
That seven-hit amassment at the plate would see Sullivan rise up in the late stages of battle for Genesee Valley/Belfast, poking a two-run single out into the outfield to inch closer to the top seeds.
But in the end, Keshequa added two more runs during their final at-bats in the sixth inning to further cement their advantage, keeping it intact once and for all to claim their spot in Saturday night’s Class D Finals against No. 3 Friendship/Scio in Fillmore.
Despite the defeat, Southwick-Powers scored an eight-strikeout, four-walk complete game from start to finish to pace the Genesee Valley/Belfast defense on the field.
The 2024 campaign is over for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they conclude with a record of 13-6-1. The team will say goodbye to just three seniors in Sullivan, Sondra Guilford and Cassidy Hand when Graduation arrives in its entirety to their respective schools, late next month.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 020 0 – 2 7
Keshequa 104 002 X – 7 8
GVB – Hannah Southwick-Powers (LP) (CG, 8K, 4BB) and Jenna Hill.
KES – Alynn Dunning (WP) (CG, 4K, 3BB) and Isabella Hugi.
Class C2 Semifinals
No. 2 Caledonia-Mumford 2, No. 6 Bolivar-Richburg 1
CALEDONIA — It was as close as you could imagine on Thursday.
In their Class C2 semifinal battle, it would come down to who could shift the momentum in their favor when it mattered the most. For the No. 6 Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, they looked to maintain their presence down the homestretch, while for host No. 2 Caledonia-Mumford, they wanted to tilt the balance back in their favor one last time.
With just three runs scratching across the plate in the game’s entirety, it was safe to say that the scoring was limited.
When it was all said and done, the Lady Raiders wound up surviving down the stretch with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, evading a late rally back into the contest from the Lady Wolverines along the way to lockdown their clinging of a 2-1 victory for good, to end Bolivar-Richburg’s chance for a four-peat while extending their season into the Finals this weekend.
Proceeding the exchange of two straight 1-2-3 innings from both the Lady Wolverines and Lady Raiders right in the beginning, the No. 2 seeds were the first team to climb aboard with their opening run in the bottom of the third inning off some key base-running, as Bri Lynn, who scored a two-out double to keep their bats alive, served up their lone run.
Caledonia-Mumford now had the lead in their possession, and it would remain locked in place after yet another 1-2-3 stand on defense that both teams traded, carrying it into the fifth inning. As for Bolivar-Richburg, they fired right back at the Lady Raiders with their lone run stemming in the top of the fifth from Sydney Faulkner.
A thrilling finish between the two teams would arrive in its entirety in the sixth, when the host No. 2 seeds worked their way back to the tippy top one final time behind Colleen Talty and her run off an RBI from the bat of Malina Bellos, giving the Lady Raiders the lead once and for all, as they hop, skip and jump their way to the 2024 Class D Finals in Fillmore, where they will meet No. 1 Dundee/Bradford for all of the marbles on Saturday.
The Lady Wolverines finished their final game of the season with their one run off seven hits. Leading the way was Danika Loucks, who had two hits.
Five more hitters each chipped in with a hit to round off a seven-hit barrage against Caledonia-Mumford, as they saw Cassidy Stives, Sydney Faulkner, Danika Saunders, Sommer Beckwith and Alexa Fisk all have one along with Loucks’ pair.
On the mound, Rylee Whiting went the distance and held Caledonia-Mumford to just two hits, striking out five and walking just one during her start.
The 2024 season for Bolivar-Richburg is now over, as they finish up their campaign with a record of 13-10 overall. All of the Lady Wolverines will return to the team next year to do it all over again, next Spring.
Bolivar-Richburg 000 010 0 – 1 7 3
Caledonia-Mumford 001 001 X – 2 2 1
B-R – Rylee Whiting (LP) (CG, 5K, BB) and Sydney Faulkner.
C-M – Emma Years (WP) (CG, 3K) and Collen Talty.
GOLF
Class B Quarterfinals
No. 2 Mynderse 168, No. 7 Wellsville 189
WATERLOO — Although the No. 7 Lions of Wellsville shot their very best round of golf this season, it was not enough to overcome the challenge presented at the table by No. 2 Mynderse on Thursday at the Silver Creek Country Club in Waterloo, as the Blue Devils soared to the Semifinal round with a strong 169-189 victory.
The Lions saw Ethan Bailey take charge of the scorecard, as he fired the team’s lowest round of 38 to score medalist honors at the end of the match. Right behind him was Fletcher Kaye, who added in his round of 49. Jackson Shoughrue recorded a 50, while Payson Root rounded off the card with his round of 52.
The 2024 campaign on the links is now over for the Lions of Wellsville, as they finish with a record of 9-7 overall.
Class D Semifinals
No. 2 Fillmore 181, No. 3 Notre Dame-Batavia 219
RUSHFORD — For the first time in five years, it was back to the Class D Finals for the No. 2 Eagles of Fillmore on Thursday, as they used the co-medaling round of 43 from Sam Cool to lead the charge and towards glory with a 181-219 win over No. 3 Notre Dame-Batavia to remain undefeated with their 13th straight victory at Allegheny Hills in Rushford.
“Sam Cool took co-medalist today and that makes him the sixth different medalist we’ve had this season,” Eagles coach Tom Parks said. “These guys have shown that on any given night, a new player can take the low score. That’s very atypical of most teams and I’ve never had more than three medalists until this year. Our depth has given us a big boost this year.”
Following behind Cool for the Eagles (13-0) was Zach Sisson, who was not far behind himself with his round of 44. Anderson Wiltsey chipped in with a round of 46, while Jack Cool finished the scoring with his round of 48.
Notre Dame-Batavia was led by the co-medalist round of 43 shot by Dominic Veile.
The Class D Finals now await the Eagles of Fillmore beginning on Tuesday, as they now prepare to hop onto the bus and head for the Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club for a meeting of the minds against top-seeded Caledonia-Mumford in an 18-hole match to decide who was going to take home all the Sectional glory. Tee time for the title bout is set for a 1 p.m. start.
“Anytime you’re playing for a Sectional title, it’s exciting,” said Parks. “We missed the finals by one stroke last season, so for this same group to take the next step this season feels good. We’ll try to get some swings in over the long weekend and be ready for Tuesday. We’re playing our best golf at the right time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
